Is Telegram staring at a ban in India? Messaging app becomes petri dish for financial frauds and exam scams

Telegram, the widely-used messaging app, is under intense scrutiny in India due to its alleged role in a range of criminal activities. The platform has emerged as a prominent channel for distributing leaked exam papers, child pornography, stock price manipulation, and extortion. Cyber experts, law enforcement officials, and former government officials have compared Telegram to the dark web for its alleged involvement in such illicit operations.

The scrutiny comes after Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was detained in France on August 24. The French authorities are investigating Durov for failing to adequately address criminal activities on the platform, including the spread of child sexual abuse material. This incident has drawn global attention to the challenges Telegram presents for law enforcement and digital content moderation.

The Paris prosecutor announced on August 26 that the investigation into Durov involves allegations of illicit transactions, child pornography, fraud, and failure to provide information to authorities. In response, Telegram reiterated its stance, “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform."

Telegram was launched in 2013 by Pavel and Nikolai Durov. The platform now boasts 950 million users, an increase from 550 million in 2022.

How did Telegram become a hub for scams and fraud in India?

On July 24, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) uncovered a stock price manipulation scheme operating through the Telegram app. The administrator of a Telegram group was charged with receiving ₹20 lakh in commission for manipulating the stock prices of a steel sheet manufacturing firm.

On May 3, two men from Bhopal were arrested for defrauding a local doctor of ₹38 lakh. They used Telegram to impersonate police officers and conduct a fake interrogation.

On June 19, 2023, the UGC-NET exam, which had about 900,000 applicants, was cancelled the day after it was held due to a question paper leak on Telegram. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated, “We tallied the questions with the original UGC-NET questions and they matched… All these activities took place on Telegram these days. It is a challenge to track the complex nature of Telegram without a high-level investigation,” Hindustan Times reported.

On May 3, 2023, many NEET-UG applicants reportedly received advance copies of the exam questions, sparking one of the largest exam controversies in India and prompting a federal investigation and Supreme Court intervention.

Law enforcement officials say they face significant challenges due to Telegram’s anonymity features. A senior officer from the Delhi Police cybercrime unit told HT, “One of the most rampant scams on Telegram is investment fraud, where users are added to a group and advised to invest money in stocks via a fake application that mimics a legitimate stock trading app.” The officer added that other illicit activities included purchasing fake SIM cards and sharing bank account details with cyber fraudsters through the Telegram app.